UK science

As we consider a future outside the EU, we need to tackle one simple question: will this be a national identity crisis or a moment of profound renewal?

I believe we face a once-in-a-generation opportunity. To build a country that gives all its own citizens an opportunity to succeed in a globalised economy by becoming a more global nation. But to realise that we must acknowledge the need for major reform. As a Minister in both the Department for Health and the Department for Business, I was too often appalled at how Whitehall departmentalism so often triumphs national interest. This is far too important to get lost in bureaucratic turf wars.

That’s why I was delighted to contribute a foreword to a new report from Policy Exchange called Global Britain, Global Solutions: How British R&D can transform international development, and to be interviewed about my thoughts on the future of aid, trade and security on the Today programme.

In my foreword I set out a new vision for Britain’s aid, trade and security post-Brexit. Public investment in development R&D can be a win/win, boosting global security and prosperity while providing the seed capital to support a wider ecosystem of innovation at home. Britain is a science and innovation superpower. But for years we’ve neglected it.

It’s time to embrace a global strategy for British prosperity through global aid, trade and security, based on taking our science and innovation into the fastest-emerging markets to drive sustainable growth. Brexit offers the opportunity for Britain to cement its position as a global leader in science and our new Industrial Strategy is a chance to put innovation right at the heart of a national strategy for post-Brexit success.

If we embrace reform, we could unlock a whole new era of economic growth for British businesses and entrepreneurs, establishing ourselves as one of the leading knowledge economies in the post-Brexit world.